Tenth person found dead, including young girl in drain, after Christmas and Boxing Day storms

ABC NEWS (Australia)

A tenth person has died following the severe storms which battered the east coast on Christmas and boxing day many communities are still picking up the pieces.

Transcript

00:00 Residents here on the Gold Coast are in for some reprieve from the wild wet weather we've

00:07 seen here over the past few days, but unfortunately that will be replaced by a heatwave.

00:12 The Bureau of Meteorology says temperatures will soar well into the 30s over the next

00:17 two days, making it uncomfortable and difficult for those residents who are still without

00:21 power from what the Bureau has since declared as a tornado.

00:25 Those powerful winds of up to 150km/h ripped through southeast Queensland on Christmas

00:32 and Boxing Day, causing widespread damages to homes and claiming seven lives, with the

00:37 youngest victim, a nine-year-old girl, who was swept away in floodwaters at Rochedale

00:41 in Brisbane on Tuesday afternoon.

00:44 The electricity network has also been extensively damaged and the latest information we have

00:48 from Energex today is that about 45,000 homes are currently without power.

00:54 This in turn impacts the water supply, particularly for the scenic Rim region, who rely on power

00:59 to access water and so those residents there are being urged to conserve water.

01:04 And as you can imagine, crews have been working around the clock to clearing debris and trees

01:09 from roads and we do know that workers have been deployed here from across Queensland

01:14 as well as interstate to assist with that massive restoration effort.

01:19 The Queensland Fire and Emergency Services, their crews have been out assessing homes

01:24 and they say that about 60 homes have so far been declared as uninhabitable, but the local

01:30 and state government have stepped up to help and assist residents cope during this difficult

01:36 period.

01:37 Yesterday, the Queensland Premier, Stephen Miles, he announced that those disaster payments

01:42 will also be made available for Gold Coast locals affected by the weather event.

01:48 They can apply for those payments which are up to about $900 per household.

01:53 And to help people cool off from this heat, the Gold Coast Council has also announced

01:58 that the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre, the pool, will be free of charge to the public today

02:03 and tomorrow.

02:04 But unfortunately, the sun won't be hanging around for long.

02:08 The Bureau, they predict that South East Queensland will be ringing in a very wet New Year with

02:16 showers predicted for New Year's Eve.

02:18 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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